Supreme Court of Ohio Clerk of Court - Filed September 08, 2015 - Case No. 2015-1411 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF OHIO STATE EX REL. RESPONSIBLEOHIO, et al : : Relator, : Case No. 2015-1411 : v. : Original Action in Mandamus : Expedited Election Case THE OHIO BALLOT BOARD, et al., : : Respondents. : MERIT BRIEF OF STATE RESPONDENTS MICHAEL DEWINE (0009181) Ohio Attorney General ANDY DOUGLAS (0000006) ZACHERY P. KELLER (0086930) LARRY H. JAMES (0021773) JORDAN S. BERMAN (0093075) Crabbe, Brown & James, LLP RYAN L. RICHARDSON (0090382) 500 South Front Street Assistant Attorneys General Suite 1200 Constitutional Offices Section Columbus, Ohio 43215 30 East Broad Street, 16th Floor Tel: 614- 228-5511; Fax: 614-228-4559 Columbus, Ohio 43215 [email protected] Tel: 614-466-2872; Fax: 614-728-7592 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] DONALD J. MCTIGUE (0022849) [email protected] MARK A. MCGINNIS (0076275) J. COREY COLOMBO (0072398) Counsel for Respondents DEREK S. CLINGER (0092075) The Ohio Ballot Board and McTigue McGinnis & Colombo, LLC Secretary of State Jon Husted 545 East Town Street Columbus, Ohio 43215 Tel: 614-263-7000; Fax: 614-263-7078 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Counsel for Relators TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Authorities ....................................................................................................................... iii Introduction ......................................................................................................................................1 Statement of the Case and Facts ......................................................................................................5 Standard of Review ..........................................................................................................................7 Argument .........................................................................................................................................8 I. The Court may only invalidate ballot language that misleads, deceives, or defrauds voters. ................................................................................................................... 9 II. Given the length and complexity of the proposed amendment, it was necessary to significantly shorten and paraphrase the amendment’s content to provide a reasonable ballot description. ....................................................................... 11 III. The ballot language and title fairly inform voters about what they are voting on; they do not mislead, deceive, or defraud voters. ............................................. 14 A. The ballot language and title accurately reflect that the proposed amendment grants exclusive rights to a select few. .............................................. 14 B. The ballot language details the essential parts of the proposed amendment. ........................................................................................................... 21 C. The ballot language is not misleading or unfairly prejudicial to the proposed amendment. ........................................................................................... 26 IV. Relators fail to present viable alternatives. ....................................................................... 38 V. Relators unreasonably delayed in bringing their ballot language challenges; the doctrine of laches, therefore, bars Relators’ ballot language claim. ................................................................................................................................. 43 Conclusion .....................................................................................................................................48 ii TABLE OF AUTHORITIES Cases Page(s) Blankenship v. Blackwell, 103 Ohio St.3d 567, 2004-Ohio-5596, 817 N.E.2d 382 ..........................................................46 Burson v. Freeman, 504 U.S. 191 (1992) .................................................................................................................12 Cantrell v. Trinkle, 197 Ohio App. 3d 82, 2011-Ohio-5288, 966 N.E.2d 288 (2d Dist.) .......................................28 Columbus Bar Assn. v. Potts, 65 Ohio St. 3d 297, 603 N.E.2d 986 (1992), reinstatement granted, 77 Ohio St.3d 1227, 673 N.E. 2d 1378 (1996) ......................................................................................28 In re Application of Ohio Power Co., 140 Ohio St.3d 509, 2014-Ohio-4271, 20 N.E.3d 699 ............................................................34 Jurcisin v. Cuyahoga Cty. Bd. of Elections, 35 Ohio St.3d 137, 519 N.E.2d 347 (1988) ..................................................................... passim Lubin v. Panish, 415 U.S. 709 (1974) .................................................................................................................12 Nev. Comm’n on Ethics v. Carrigan, 131 S. Ct. 2343 (2011) .............................................................................................................36 Paschal v. Cuyahoga Cty. Bd. of Elections, 74 Ohio St.3d 141, 656 N.E.2d 1276 (1995) .....................................................................44, 47 Purcell v. Gonzalez, 549 U.S. 1 (2006) .....................................................................................................................12 Smith v. Scioto Cty Bd. of Elections, 123 Ohio St.3d 467, 2009-Ohio-5866, 918 N.E.2d 131 ....................................................43, 44 State ex rel. Bailey v. Celebrezze, 67 Ohio St.2d 516, 426 N.E.2d 493 (1981) .............................................................9, 10, 11, 35 State ex rel. Brown v. Ashtabula Cty. Bd. of Elections, 142 Ohio St.3d 370, 2014-Ohio-4022, 31 N.E.3d 596 ..............................................................7 State ex rel. Chillicothe v. Ross Cty. Bd. of Elections, 123 Ohio St.3d 439, 2009-Ohio-5523, 917 N.E.2d 263 ..........................................................43 State ex rel. Cincinnati for Pension Reform v. Hamilton Cty. Bd. of Elections, 137 Ohio St.3d 45, 2013-Ohio-4489, 997 N.E.2d 509 .................................................... passim iii Cases Page(s) State ex rel. Cooker Restaurant Corp. v. Montgomery Cty. Bd. of Elections, 80 Ohio St.3d 302, 686 N.E.2d 238 (1997) ...............................................................................8 State ex rel. Goodwin v. Indus. Comm'n of Ohio, 10th Dist. Franklin No. 99AP-655, 2000 WL 297247 (Mar. 23, 2000) .................................28 State ex rel. Kilby v. Summit Cty. Bd. of Elections, 133 Ohio St.3d 184, 2012-Ohio-4310, 977 N.E.2d 590 ....................................................22, 31 State ex rel. Landis v. Morrow Cty. Bd. of Elections, 88 Ohio St.3d 187, 724 N.E.2d 775 (2000) .............................................................................44 State ex rel. Polo v. Cuyahoga Cty. Bd. of Elections, 74 Ohio St. 3d 143, 656 N.E.2d 1277 (1995) ..........................................................................44 State ex rel. Purdy v. Clermont Cty. Bd. of Elections, 77 Ohio St.3d 338, 673 N.E.2d 1351 (1997) ...........................................................................12 State ex rel. Voters First v. Ohio Ballot Bd., 133 Ohio St.3d 257, 2012-Ohio- 4149, 978 N.E.2d 119 ................................................. passim State v. Arnold, 5th Dist. Guernsey No. 11 CA 19, 2012-Ohio-3322 ...............................................................28 State, ex rel. Commrs. of the Sinking Fund, v. Brown (1957), 167 Ohio St. 71[, 146 N.E.2d 287] ..............................................................................10, 12, 37 Timmons v. Twin Cities Area New Party, 520 U.S. 351 (1997) .................................................................................................................36 Wellington v. Mahoning Cty. Bd. of Elections, 117 Ohio St. 3d 143, 2008-Ohio-554, 882 N.E.2d 420 ...........................................................35 Statutes Page(s) 21 U.S.C. § 812(c) .........................................................................................................................42 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) .....................................................................................................................42 21 U.S.C. § 844(a) .........................................................................................................................42 52 U.S.C. § 20302(a) .......................................................................................................................4 O.R.C. § 3501.05(H) ............................................................................................................5, 10, 47 O.R.C. § 3505.06(E) ........................................................................................................................5 iv Statutes Page(s) O.R.C. § 3505.061(A) ......................................................................................................................5 O.R.C. § 3511.04 .................................................................................................................7, 45, 46 O.R.C. § 3519.01(A) ..................................................................................................................6, 42 O.R.C. § 3519.21 ...........................................................................................................................10